Single or double roll mechanism for cloth wind up

ABSTRACT

A drive roller assembly engages one or two rolls of cloth supported on spindles, for imparting windup rotation to the rolls to which elongated webs of cloth are fed. The roll supporting spindles are independently mounted for pivotal displacement above separate drive rollers of the roller assembly that are axially spaced from each other by a washer on a common drive shaft. One of the rollers is permanently splined to the drive shaft while the other roller is optionally secured thereto by a locking collar.

United States Patent 1191 Beard et al. 1 Jan. 7, 1975 [54] SINGLE 0R DOUBLE ROLL MECHANISM 3,086,726 4/1963 Aaron 242/65 FOR CLOTH WIND UP Primary Examiner-John W. Huckert [76] Inventors j gg 52 3 8 g 22 Assistant Examiner-Edward J. McCarthy 8 fin 19475' Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Clarence A. O'Brien;

p g Harvey B. Jacobson [22] Filed: Aug. 7, 1973 [21] Appl. No.; 386,444 7] T A A drive roller assembly engages one or two rolls of 521 US. Cl. 242/66 Cloth Supported Spindles, for imparting winduP 51] Int. Cl B65h 17/08 tam)" to the T0115) which elongated Webs 0f Cloth are 58 Field oisearchm 242/62 65 66 67.1 R The Supporting Spindles are independently 673 mounted for pivotal displacement above separate drive rollers of the roller assembly that are axially [56] References Cited spaced from each other by a washer on a common drive shaft. One of the rollers is permanently splined UNITED STATES PATENTS to the drive shaft while the other roller is optionally 2 gggliiir gg secured thereto by a locking collar. 2,985,398 5/1961 Rockstrom 242/65 10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures SINGLE OR DOUBLE ROLL MECHANISM FOR CLOTH WIND UP This invention relates to textile machines and more particularly to the storage of elongated webs of fabric by windup into rolls.

In order to handle and store fabric such as cloth as it emerges from textile machines wherein the cloth is manufactured and/or processed, in the form of webs of indeterminate length, mechanism is provided for winding the webs into rolls that are periodically removed. Often two or more of such webs are simultaneously processed and wound on separate supporting spindles into rolls by a common drive roller. Any malfunction or stoppage in the windup of one of the rolls in such mechanism will cause shutdown of the entire opertion to permit repair or removal of a roll since the windup arrangement is geared for full capacity operation at all times. It is therefore an important object of the present invention to provide a roll windup mechanism which will permit idling of one of the roll windup portions without adversely affecting the operating portion which may furthermore be operated without any loading from the idle portion.

In accordance with the present invention, the frame of the roll windup mechanism supports a pair of axially aligned drive rollers on a common drive shaft, the drive rollers being axially spaced by a washer. One of the drive rollers is splined to the drive shaft while the other is rotatably mounted thereon by spaced bearings for idling purposes. A locking collar is provided at one axial end of the drive shaft to selectively secure the idling roller to the drive shaft which is driven at the other axial endby a variable speed drive assembly. A pair of roll supporting spindles are respectively positioned above each drive roller and independently displaceable by fluid power devices connected to spindle supporting arms that are pivoted about a pivotal axis parallel to the drive shaft.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a roll winding mechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial side elevation view of the mechanism shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partial front elevation view of the mechanism with parts broken away and shown in section.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged section view taken substantially through a plane indicated by section line 4-4 in FIG. 1

Referring now to the drawings in detail, FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate a roll winding mechanism generally referred to by reference numeral 10, mounted on the frame 12 of a textile machine (not shown) from which two cloth webs 14 are fed to the mechanism in sideby-side relation to each other. The webs 14 shown by dotted line in FIG. I are adapted to be wound up into rolls 16 also shown by dotted lines. The two rolls are respectively supported on spindles l8 and 20 carried by a roll supporting assembly 22 for pivotal displacement independently of each other and are adapted to be wound on the spindle by engagement of the rolls with a drive roller assembly 24. The spindles and the drive roller assembly extend laterally between the upper and lower side frame members 26 and 28 of the frame assembly perpendicular to the direction of feed of the webs.

As more clearly seen in FIG. 2, the drive roller as sembly includes a pair of axially aligned cylindrical drive rollers 30 and 32 respectively underlying the roll spindles 18 and 20. A common drive shaft 34 supports both drive rollers for rotation about a fixed drive axis established by spaced bearing assemblies 36 secured to the upper frame member 26 and journaling the opposite end portions of the drive shaft. The drive roller 30 includes an end wall 38 splined to the drive shaft. A pulley wheel 40 is secured to the end wall 38 and is associated with a powered variable speed transmission assembly 42. A recessed end wall 44 supports the drive roller 30 on the drive shaft adjacent its end opposite end wall 38 at a location centrally of the drive shaft. The adjacent end of the drive roller 32 is supported on the drive shaft by a bearing 46 connected to recessed end wall 48. The two drive rollers are separated at adjacent ends by a nylon washer 50. The drive roller 32 is supported on the drive shaft at its end opposite the bearing 46 by a second bearing 52 mounted within a pulley wheel 54 secured to end wall 56 by fastener 58 as more clearly seen in FIG. 4. Thus, the drive roller 32 is freely rotatable on the drive shaft as compared to the drive roller 30 which is permanently splined thereto. However, the drive roller 32 may be selectively secured to the drive shaft for rotation therewith by a locking collar 60 that is splined to the drive shaft and removably secured to the pulley wheel 54 by a fastener 62 as more clearly seen in FIG. 4.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the transmission assembly 42 includes a drive motor 64 coupled by a clutch 66 to a drive sprocket 68 about which an endless sprocket chain 70 is entrained. The sprocket chain drivingly connects the motor to a well known variable speed drive mechanism 72 so as to transmit power at a selected drive ratio to the drive pulley 40 through an endless drive belt 74. The drive ratio is selected through a drive control component 76 actuated by a threaded control shaft 78 to which a control crank handle 80 is connected as more clearly seen in FIG. 3. Thus, rotation may be imparted to drive roller 30 and drive shaft 34 to which the other drive roller 32 may be coupled when operating or decoupled therefrom when not in use. Alternatively, a driving connection may be provided to the pulley wheel 54 to drive the drive roller 32 while the drive roller 30 and drive shaft 34 idle.

The drive rollers when operating are effective to cause windup of the rolls 16 which are supported in contact with the drive rollers by the spindles l8 and 20. Each spindle is rotatably carried by the end portions of a planar spindle supporting arm 82 and an angulated end supporting arm 84. The end supporting arms 84 are pivotally mounted on posts 86 by pivots 88 aligned with an elongated, fixed pivot rod 90 that extends transversely between the posts 86 in parallel spaced relation to the drive shaft 34. Pivot brackets 92 extend inwardly from the posts 86 to support the pivot rod. Axially abutting sleeves 94 are journaled on the pivot rod and are connected to the supporting arms 82 centrally located on the pivot rod in substantial alignment with the washer 50 axially spacing the drive rollers. Collars 96 secured to the pivot shaft by setscrews, hold the sleeves 94 in assembled relation.

The two pairs of supporting arms 82 and 84 of the pivotal support assembly 22 thus accommodate upward displacement of the rolls 16 gravitationally held in engagement with associated drive rollers to effect windup on the spindles so that the diameters of the rolls may increase as more cloth is wound up. Fluid power pistoncylinder devices 98 are pivotally anchored to the upper frame members 26 and connected to the end supporting arms 84 as more clearly seen in FIG. 3 in order to upwardly withdraw a selected roll from the drive roller assembly as shown by dotted line in FIG. 3. A roll of cloth may thereby be removed or one roll wound up by one of the drive rollers while the other idles, without loading the drive mechanism. The locking collar 60 permits such selective disablement of one of the drive rollers as aforementioned.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In a mechanism for winding up webs of fabric into rolls, a frame, at least two drive rollers, means mounted on the frame for rotationally supporting said drive rollers about a common axis fixed relative to the frame, drive means operatively connected to at least one of the drive rollers for rotation thereof, at least two roll supporting spindles on which said webs are adapted to be wound into the rolls, spindle support means carrying said spindles for independent pivotal displacement about a single pivotal axis parallel to said common axis of the drive rollers, and power operated means connected to said spindle support means for displacement of the spindles from positions in which the rolls supported thereon engage the drive rollers.

2. In a mechanism for winding up webs of fabric into rolls, a frame, at least two drive rollers, means mounted on the frame for rotationally supporting said dirve rollers about a common axis fixed relative to the frame, drive means operatively connected to at least one of the drive rollers for rotation thereof, at least two roll supporting spindles on which said webs are adapted to be wound into the rolls, spindle support means carrying said spindles for independent pivotal displacement about a pivotal axis parallel to said common axis of the drive rollers, and power operated means connected to said spindle support means for displacement of the spindles from positions in which the rolls supported thereon engage the drive rollers, said rotational supporting means for the drive rollers including a drive shaft, means securing said one of the drive rollers to the drive shaft for rotation therewith, bearing means rotatably mounting the other of the drive rollers on the drive shaft, and locking means connected to the drive shaft for selectively coupling said other of the drive rollers to the drive shaft.

3. The combination of claim 2 including means for axially spacing the drive rollers in axial alignment on the drive shaft.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said spindle support means includes a pivot rod fixed to the frame in parallel relation to the common axis, a pair of central support arms pivotally mounted on said pivot rod adjacent to each other in substantial alignment with the axial spacing means, a pair of end support arms pivotally mounted on the frame to which the power operated means is connected, and means rotatably mounting the spindles between adjacent pairs of central and end support arms in parallel spaced relation to the pivot rod.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said drive means includes pulley means secured to each of the drive rollers at axial ends opposite the axial spacing means.

6. The combination of claim 3 wherein said drive means includes pulley means secured to each of the drive rollers at axial ends opposite the axial spacing means.

7. The combination of claim 1 including means for axially spacing the drive rollers in axial alignment along said common axis.

8. In a mechanism for winding up webs of fabric into rolls, a frame, at least two drive rollers, means mounted on the frame for rotationally supporting said drive rollers about a common axis fixed relative to the frame, drive means operatively connected to at least one of the drive rollers for rotation thereof, at least two roll supporting spindles on which said webs are adapted to be wound into the rolls, spindle support means carrying said spindles for independent pivotal displacement about a pivotal axis parallel to said common axis of the drive rollers, power operated means connected to said spindle support means for displacement of the spindles from positions in which the rolls supported thereon engage the drive rollers, and means for axially spacing the drive rollers in axial alignment along said common axis, said drive means including pulley means secured to each of the drive rollers at axial ends opposite the axial spacing means.

9. The combination of claim 2 wherein said spindle support means includes a pivot rod fixed to the frame in parallel relation to the common axis, a pair of central support arms pivotally mounted on said pivot rod adjacent to each other in substantial alignment with the axial spacing means, a pair of end support arms pivotally mounted on the frame to which the power operated means is connected, and means rotatably mounting the spindles between adjacent pairs of central and end support arms in parallel spaced relation to the pivot rod.

10. In a mechanism for winding up webs of fabric into rolls, a frame, at least two roll supporting spindles on which said webs are adapted to be wound into the rolls, spindle support means carrying said spindles for independent pivotal displacement about a single pivotal axis fixed to the frame, power driven roller means rotatably mounted about a drive axis parallel to the pivotal axis for engagement with the roll supported on at least one of the spindles to effect windup thereof and means connected to the power driven means for selectively imparting windup rotation to one or two rolls respectively supported on the spindles. 

1. In a mechanism for winding up webs of fabric into rolls, a frame, at least two drive rollers, means mounted on the frame for rotationally supporting said drive rollers about a common axis fixed relative to the frame, drive means operatively connected to at least one of the drive rollers for rotation thereof, at least two roll supporting spindles on which said webs are adapted to be wound into the rolls, spindle support means carrying said spindles for independent pivotal displacement about a single pivotal axis parallel to said common axis of the drive rollers, and power operated means connected to said spindle support means for displacement of the spindles from positions in which the rolls supported thereon engage the drive rollers.
 2. In a mechanism for winding up webs of fabric into rolls, a frame, at least two drive rollers, means mounted on the frame for rotationally supporting said dirve rollers about a common axis fixed relative to the frame, drive means operatively connected to at least one of the drive rollers for rotation thereof, at least two roll supporting spindles on which said webs are adapted to be wound into the rolls, spindle support means carrying said spindles for independent pivotal displacement about a pivotal axis parallel to said common axis of the drive rollers, and power operated means connected to said spindle support means for displacement of the spindles from positions in which the rolls supported thereon engage the drive rollers, said rotational supporting means for the drive rollers including a drive shaft, means securing said one of the drive rollers to the drive shaft for rotation therewith, bearing means rotatably mounting the other of the drive rollers on the drive shaft, and locking means connected to the drive shaft for selectively coupling said other of the drive rollers to the drive shaft.
 3. The combination of claim 2 including means for axially spacing the drive rollers in axial alignment on the drive shaft.
 4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said spindle support means includes a pivot rod fixed to the frame in parallel relation to the common axis, a pair of central support arms pivotally mounted on said pivot rod adjacent to each other in substantial alignment with the axial spacing means, a pair of end support arms pivotally mounted on the frame to which the power operated means is connected, and means rotatably mounting the spindles between adjacent pairs of central and end support arms in parallel spaced relation to the pivot rod.
 5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said drive means includes pulley means secured to each of the drive rollers at axial ends opposite the axial spacing means.
 6. The combination of claim 3 wherein said drive means includes pulley means secured to each of the drive rollers at axial ends opposite the axial spacing means.
 7. The combination of claim 1 including means for axially spacing the drive rollers in axial alignment along said common axis.
 8. In a mechanism for winding up webs of fabric into rolls, a frame, at least two drive rollers, means mounted on the frame for rotationally supporting said drive rollers about a common axis fixed relative to the frame, drive means operatively connected to at least one of the drive rollers for rotation thereof, at least two roll supporting spindles on which said webs are adapted to be wound into the rolls, spindle support means carrying said spindles for independent pivotal displacement about a pivotal axis parallel to said common axis of the drive rollers, power operated means connected to said spindle support means for displacement of the spindles from positions in which the rolls supported thereon engage the drive rollers, and means for axially spacing the drive rollers in axial alignment along said common axis, said drive means including pulley means secured to each of the drive rollers at axial ends opposite the axial spacing means.
 9. The combination of claim 2 wherein said spindle support means includes a pivot rod fixed to the frame in parallel relation to the common axis, a pair of central support arms pivotally mounted on said pivot rod adjacent to each other in substantial alignment with the axial spacing means, a pair of end support arms pivotally mounted on the frame to which the power operated means is connected, and means rotatably mounting the spindles between adjacent pairs of central and end support arms in parallel spaced relation to the pivot rod.
 10. In a mechanism for winding up webs of fabric into rolls, a frame, at least two roll supporting spindles on which said webs are adapted to be wound into the rolls, spindle support means carrying said spindles for independent pivotal displacement about a single pivotal axis fixed to the frame, power driven roller means rotatably mounted about a drive axis parallel to the pivotal axis for engagement with the roll supported on at least one of the spindles to effect windup thereof and means connected to the power driven means for selectively imparting windup rotation to one or two rolls respectively supported on the spindles. 